Legal Code of Zundrbar
((WIP)) The Legal Code of Zundrbar is the collection of all laws pertaining to citizens of the Principality of Zundrbar. The legal code is unique in comparison to many others, in that it lacks capital punishment, commonly found in other kingdoms in many different forms, including hanging and beheading. Furthermore, the legal code is unique in that sentences to a gaol or other similar area are not present. Instead of using these common methods, criminals in the Principality of Zundrbar pay sums of money to the affected individual, or in cases where the affected individual cannot be paid- to the family of the affected individual. These sums are known as "Kriminele betaling"- literally, criminal payments. Founding of the Legal Code When the Principality of Zundrbar was first founded by Sigmund Sootbeard, a council was held involving all of the original settlers of the area to determine how the community's legal structure would function. They had come to the consensus that criminals should not be held in cells paid for by the town, as such would require taxation- which went against the Founding Principles of the Principality of Zundrbar. Instead, they agreed to establish a private, de-centralized court system, and criminals would pay the affected individual for their crimes, with sums varying on the severity of the crime. Should a criminal not be able to pay the sum, they would be given a sentence of indentured labor- which would be governed by the legal code, and a representative of the court would be sent to ensure humane treatment was given to the criminal. Should an individual not consent to the indentured labor, they would then be branded with a mark of an oathbreaker, and would be shunned from society, though allowed to continue owning property and living in their daily lives. However, with this new branding- shopkeepers would be allowed by law to not sell goods to this person and employers would be allowed by law to not offer jobs to him. Most of these oathbreakers would be taken in by the local clergymen of the Titanic Church, and often take the pathhood to becoming priests. Laws and Punishments regarding Property (Ejendom) The first scroll of the legal code, known as Ejendom, or Property, is based on the fundamental belief that an individual has a right to defend their property from trespassers. This first scroll governs all interruptions of one's property rights, ranging from thieves to trespassers to businesses. Trespassers (Overtreding) Peaceful Trespassing (Vreedsame Overtreding) Peaceful Trespassing is a criminal offense, for it is violating the property rights of the landowner. However, the landowner is not allowed to use excessive force to remove an individual from their property. The peaceful trespasser, if they do not remove themselves from an owner's property after excessive warning, will be fined by law- 5 Hill Dollars, or 25 Gold for the offense. If the owner uses excessive force on the peaceful trespasser- resulting in substantial injuries- the landowner will pay 4 Hill Dollars, or 20 Gold for the offense. If the owner uses excessive force on the peaceful trespasser resulting in the death of the peaceful trespasser, the landowner will be 30 Hill Dollars, or 150 Gold for the offense. In the case that any individual is unable to pay off these fines, they will have to solve it by means of either voluntary exchange- such as trading goods that they own, or resort to indentured labor. In the case of indentured labor, the peaceful trespasser would be given a sentence of two weeks of indentured labor for the first offense (not removing one's self from the landowner's property after excessive warning), while the landowner would be given 10 days of indentured labor for the first offense (excessive force resulting in substantial injury) or 5 months of indentured labor for the second offense (excessive force resulting in death). Should either individual not be able to meet any of these punishments, they shall receive the branding of an oathbreaker. Harmful Trespassing (Skadelige Overtreding) Harmful Trespassing is a subsect of Trespassing which is a criminal offense and involves trespassing on an individual's property and committing harmful acts. These harmful acts can include a variety of measures, however they are all directed against the trespasser, as the landowner is allowed, by law, to use deadly force to remove an individual from their property. Harmful trespassing is classified into four categories- Diefstal (Thievery), Moord (Murder), Vernietig (Destruction), and Ontvoer (Kidnapping). All crimes in Skadelige Overtreding are governed by a single base fee that has to be paid- 10 Hill Dollars, or 25 Gold. This is not the only fee that is going to be paid. For example, in the case of Diefstal- a criminal will have to pay back the value of the item he/she stole, the base payment of 10 Hill Dollars, and then an additional payment which is settled upon in court. Diefstal (Thievery) Diefstal is a very broad subject, considering the stealing of certain objects has value to an individual higher than its actual value. Despite being a complex issue, Diefstal covers the criminal punishment by saying, "Any criminal responsible for stealing will have to pay back the value of the item he/she stole, an additional fee for harmfully trespassing (10 Hill Dollars or 50 gold), and another fee, known as an agreed payment- Ooreengekome betaling. Moord (Murder) Murder is considered to be the ultimate crime that one can commit in the Principality of Zundrbar. It violates the founding principles of non-aggression and respect of property rights. Murder alone is the ultimate loss of property rights via the loss of life. Thus, murder has hefty fees to be paid out, and long sentences of indentured labor. To begin with, if an individual trespasses on one's property, and murders the landowner- then the trespasser will have to pay a base fee of 10 Hill Dollars for trespassing on property, and then an additional 300 Hill Dollars, or 1500 Gold, for the murder of the landowner. In the case that the trespasser cannot pay off this fee, he will be given a sentence of 18 months of indentured labor. If an individual trespasses on one's property and murders the landowner's husband/wife- then the trespasser will have to pay a base fee of 10 Hill Dollars for trespassing on property, and then an additional 350 Hill Dollars, or 1750 Gold, for the murder of the landowner's husband/wife. In the case that the trespasser cannot pay off this fee, he will be given a sentence of 24 months of indentured labor. If an individual trespasses on one's property and murders one child of the landowner, then the trespasser will have to pay a base fee of 10 Hill Dollars for trespassing on property, and then an additional 500 Hill Dollars, or 2500 Gold, for the murder of the landowner's one child if the landowner only has one child, or 490 Hill Dollars, or 2450 Gold for the murder of the landowner's one child if the landowner has more than one child. Should the trespasser not be able to pay off the fees, he will be given 36 months of indentured labor if the landowner has more than one child or 40 months of indentured labor if the landowner has only one child. If the landowner has more than one child- for example, two children, and the trespasser kills both- then the trespasser will be given a fee of 1000 Hill Dollars or 5,000 Gold, plus the base fee of 10 Hill Dollars or 50 Gold, and a sentence of 80 months of indentured labor. If the landowner has three children, and the trespasser kills all three- then the trespasser will be given a fee of 1500 Hill Dollars or 7,500 Gold, plus the base fee of 10 Hill Dollars or 50 Gold, and a sentence of 120 months of indentured labor. For each child murdered, the fee will increase by 500 Hill Dollars, or 2500 Gold, and the indentured labor sentence will increase by 40 months. Should the trespasser murder a husband/wife and a child, then the trespasser will have to pay a base payment of 10 Hill Dollars, 350 Hill Dollars, and then have to pay a fee based on the murder of the child using the theorem above. For the indentured labor sentence, the base sentence will be 60 months if a trespasser murders the husband/wife and the only child, or 64 months if a trespasser murders the husband/wife and one child of several. If the trespasser murders several children, then the sentence will be increased by 64 months for each child murdered. For example, if a trespasser murders a husband/wife and three children, they will be given a fee of 1890 Hill Dollars, or 9450 Gold, or an indentured labor sentence of 192 months (16 years). Should the trespasser murder the landowner, the landowner's husband/wife, and the landowner's children (essentially the entire family), they will have to pay a base payment of 10 Hill Dollars (50 gold), 350 Hill Dollars (1750 gold) for the murder of the husband/wife, 300 Hill Dollars (1500 gold) for the murder of the landowner, and a fee for the children using the theorem stated in the section on the murder of children. His indentured labor sentence will begin at 78 (6.5 years) months if the trespasser murders one child of several, or 80 months if he murders an only child (6 years and 8 months). For each additional child murdered, the sentence will be increased 78 months. Vernietig (Destruction) Vernietig governs the destruction of property, and it is arguably one of the broadest subjects in the Legal Code, as there are different punishments for different property destroyed- for example, the burning of a cornfield belonging to a farmer would be punished differently than breaking an heirloom vase. Category:Zundrbar Category:Law